WEBINAR SERIES
Leadership & Innovation
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Become a Changemaker with a Focus on Leadership and Innovation.
Prioritize consistent professional development and growth by participating in the Leadership and Innovation webinar series. Whether you are an established or aspiring leader, focus on your growth to lead your team to success.
In this months-long series, you will learn from inspiring and innovative leaders from a wide variety of industries. Speakers will share insights about topics ranging from DEI to leading change and much more.
Leadership and innovation go hand in hand, and these speakers exemplify that in their talks. For the duration of this series, choose to invest in yourself and your leadership skills. Commit to spending an hour per month growing and learning in these motivational and engaging webinars.
Are you A University of Michigan faculty member, staff member, student, or alumnus?
Send an email to nexus-answers@umich.edu and receive a code for free registration.
Series Overview
The 2024 Leadership and Innovation webinar series comprises 9 unique sessions featuring leaders with distinct and inspiring backgrounds. Select the webinars that you wish to attend. If you are unable to attend a webinar that you have purchased, you will receive a recording after the live event.
Who Should Attend
Aspiring or established leaders from any industry will benefit from the wisdom shared in these live sessions.
Webinar
FEBRUARY 22, 2024
Servant Leadership
Featured Speaker: Thomas Willis
10:00am ET
Learn practical ideas on how to become a better leader. Tom will discuss:
- 3 tools to shape culture
- 2 emotions at the root of Servant Leadership
- 1 system to transform yourself
Tom believes we are all born with unlimited potential. As a former classroom teacher, he also believes in the power of lifelong learning. These beliefs have shaped his primary goal in life: helping others move beyond their self-limiting beliefs so they can reach their God-given potential.
Webinar
MARCH 21, 2024
Mindful Communication
Featured Speaker: Emily Morash
10:00am ET
This presentation, rooted in social psychology, illustrates base human interpersonal communication tendencies, explores patterned reaction/response behaviors, and provides tips and tricks to better understand one’s communication styles and needs.
We begin by highlighting and exploring the principles of mindfulness and emotional intelligence, and we will demystify the root emotions we experience as we navigate daily workplace and personal communication. Using a down-to-Earth, interactive approach that’s infused with humility, humor, and personal reflection, Emily leads the audience through Louise Evans’ Five Chairs Five Choices model of communication behaviors. Participants will leave the session feeling inspired and empowered (and a bit entertained), equipped with tools and resources for immediately applicable and continued mindful communication practices.
Webinar
April 17, 2024
Measurement System Analysis (MSA) and Process Capability (Cpk): Their Symbiotic Relationship
Featured Speaker: Jd Marhevko
10:00am ET
Measurement System Analysis (MSA) and Process Capability (Cpk) have a symbiotic relationship. One can’t work well without the other. A good Cpk is not feasible without an effective MSA. Come for a basic refresher on Cpk. See how it works and learn about its critical dependency on a passing MSA. This is an interactive session where participants will be asked to engage in the process.
Jd Marhevko is the VP of Quality for ZF Electronics & ADAS Division U. In 2020, Jd was inducted into the inaugural USA’s Women In Manufacturing (WiM) Hall of Fame.
Webinar
May 23, 2024
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Featured Speaker: Bryan Johnson
10:00am ET
With over 20 years of professional experience in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), marketing, and business strategy, Bryan is a proven change agent and a passionate advocate for underrepresented minorities in American business. As a Senior Consultant/Manager at Root, a part of Accenture, Bryan helps organizations engage their people as the catalyst and driver for strategic change, using creative and visual methods, people-focused insights, and strategy execution know-how.
Bryan has an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, where he also served as the Director of Diversity and Inclusion for the MBA program, and the Senior Associate Director of Admissions for DEI.
Webinar
JUNE 20, 2024
Courageous Leadership
Featured Speaker: Melissa Pynnonen
10:00am ET
Dr. Pynnonen graduated from University of Michigan Medical School in 1994 and completed her residency in otolaryngology at the University of Michigan Health System in 2000. She is board-certified in otolaryngology and has clinical expertise in acute and chronic sinusitis, complications of sinusitis involving the eye or brain, and tumors involving the nasal cavity and sinuses. She obtained her master’s degree in health care research and policy from the University of Michigan in 2012.
Webinar
July 18, 2024
Climate Change
Featured Speaker: Ricky Rood
10:00am ET
Richard B. (Ricky) Rood is a professor of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Prior to 2005, he held several leadership positions at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
With over 20 years of experience in coaching, facilitation, training and team development, Toni Benner believes that real change happens when we ask intentional questions, have purposeful conversations, and take the time to reflect, analyze and actively test our conclusions. Her distinct perspective has made her a sought-after “difference-maker” for organizations across diverse industries, including healthcare, military, automotive, and academia.
Webinar
September 19, 2024
Risk Taking
Featured Speaker: Minna Taylor
10:00am ET
Minna Taylor is the Founder of Energize Your Voice and the author of The Confident Body. Beginning her career as an accent reduction specialist, Minna went on to transfer her theater training to developing an innovative approach for helping visionary leaders change the world. Notable clients include TikTok, Red Bull, UBER, and EY. Minna earned her BFA from NYU Tisch and went on to earn her MFA in Performance with a concentration in speech and vocal production. Minna has a passion for supporting individuals to play, fail, and tell powerful stories.
Elizabeth Aikman comes from a diverse healthcare background, beginning at the bedside as an oncology nurse, growing her experience through hospital leadership and quality management. She now focuses on helping teams build safer, more effective processes across healthcare systems. As a deeply curious strategic thinker, she excels at helping all levels of an organization see both the big picture and the intricate details. She has a passion for understanding learning organizations through the lens of individual development and team dynamics. Her work has catalyzed her coaching practice to integrate the power of meaningful interactions to support individual and system growth.
What's Next?
COURSE
Transformative Leadership
Create an adaptive culture by inspiring behavioral change.
COURSE
Design Thinking
Inspire organizational change with creative problem solving and strategic action.